Introducing St. John the Beloved Vineyard Church
Hello, friend,
We (Wendy and Mike Gierhart, Anna and Brian Hohmeier) are planting a church! And we're already so grateful for your support, friendship, interest—or whatever else got you onto this email list, where we're excited to keep you updated over the coming months.
Introducing St. John the Beloved
St. John the Beloved is a contemplative, charismatic, sacramental Vineyard church, centered on the love of God and Cleveland's near west side neighborhoods.
Our vision is to be a people seeking to know and become the love of God. And it’s this emphasis on the patient, present and transforming love of God that inspires our name. The gospel-writer John knew himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” and it’s only in experiencing this belovedness for ourselves that we can become witness of God’s love to the world.
Who we are
Wendy, Mike, Anna and Brian will each co-pastor St. John the Beloved bi-vocationally as we get started. The two couples met each other through Anna, Brian and Wendy’s involvement in the Order of the Common Life.
Right: Mike, Cole, Wendy, Ivy, and Keagan. Left: Brian and Anna.
Anna is from Columbus, Ohio. She’s a student at Ashland Theological Seminary (ATS), teaches digital skills in the community, and has helped lead worship and liturgy at Scarlet City Church for 12 years. Anna will graduate with a Master of Arts in Christian Ministries from ATS in 2027.
Br. Brian is a spiritual director from Cleveland and a vowed brother in the Order of the Common Life, where he also serves as the director of formation. He graduated from Fuller Theological Seminary in 2013, and he and Anna have been married for four years.
Mike is originally from Central Pennsylvania and has lived in Cleveland since 2017. He's an infrastructure engineer for a financial services company by day and a graduate of Nyack College's pastoral ministry program. He has been involved in ministry for over two decades, serving at various points as a full-time pastor, part-time worship director, and volunteer.
Wendy is a spiritual director and ordained pastor from the Philadelphia area who has made Cleveland home over the last decade. She serves at Order of the Common Life as the program manager for the School of Formation, and she and Mike have been married for almost 18 years. Their family has taken different shapes due to foster care, but they currently live at home with their two kids (Cole and Ivy) and have one out of the house, Keagan. Wendy graduated with a M.Ed. in 2012 and a M.A. in Biblical Literature in 2020. She’s currently completing a Doctor of Ministry in Spiritual Formation & Relational Neuroscience.
Where we are today & where we’re going
Today: Right now, we’re in the formal planning stages of our church plant and, while we already have the support of the Vineyard and our sending churches, we’re working through the official assessment process.
Summer 2026: This June, Anna and Brian will move from Columbus to Cleveland, where the Gierharts already are. The four of us will begin gathering with people around meals and developing friendships in the area with an aim of beginning regular meetings in the fall.
Fall 2026 and forward: Starting in the fall, we plan to begin meeting in living rooms twice a month for prayer, worship and communion; cultivating a small team of formational leaders; and continuing to strategize and pray as a pastoral team, discerning with the Spirit when to move into larger or more frequent gatherings.
How to get involved
Your ongoing prayer and encouragement is one of the most important things you can offer us as we take the next faithful steps, and we hope you’ll continue to follow along as we send these emails (we’ll be staying off social media!).
For now, we would love your prayer for:
Anna and Brian’s move. They’re in contract on a house in Old Brooklyn and appreciate your prayers for a smooth closing on June 9th
Our process with Vineyard Church Planting (our process started just as they began undergoing transitions and process changes, and that’s come with complications)
Discernment as we invite people to join our external advisory board, particularly a treasurer with financial experience and wisdom
Protection—spiritual and relational—as we keep saying “yes” to God
Finally, we would welcome any financial support you may feel invited to give. You can follow this link to give through our donation platform, Tithly. We’ll have more to share about this in the coming months, but while our bi-vocational ministries mean we won’t need to raise salaries for the foreseeable future, we’ll be raising support this summer for our assessment costs with the Vineyard, website/subscriptions, and food for summer gatherings we’ll be hosting. As a registered church, all donations are tax-deductible.
Again, we’ll have much more to share with you in the coming months (and years), but if you feel led or curious to get involved in other ways—or just to learn more—please reach out to us at any time so we can grab some time (and maybe a coffee) either online or in person.
“Keep yourself in the love of God” (Jude 1:21),
// Wendy, Mike, Anna & Brian
Co-Pastors
St. John the Beloved Vineyard Church
belovedvineyard.org